Proteas fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, reiterated his undeniable commitment of representing South Africa and reflected on the past season as being a “disappointment”, writes Ongama Gcwabe.
Kagiso Rabada has been a star literally since making his international debut in 2014 against Australia in a T20I game. In his five years of international cricket, the 2019/20 season was not his best at all.
Rabada was in top form under Ottis Gibson. We saw him master the small things that are needed for a fast bowler to be successful at international level. One season after Gibson’s contract expired, the 25-year-old admittedly did not have the best of seasons.
“The past season was a disappointment. Even though I reflect and see that my stats were okay, I just felt really rusty and just a bit out of place,” said Rabada.
“I realize that it was never supposed to be easy and I’m taking it day-by-day trying to achieve my new set of goals.”
An exciting aspect of Rabada’s game is his passion which unfortunately gets him into trouble more often than not. Last summer, he was suspended for the last Test match of the series for an offensive send off to England’s captain Joe Root.
It was the third time that Rabada was suspended in Test cricket in just three years. One of those decisions was overturned in 2018, thus he did not miss the following Test match against Australia.
“I just think that it’s passion. Everyone has their opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I’ve identified things that I needed to identify,” Rabada insisted.
“So I will address them with the people that are closest to me and who I feel should be helping me address them.”
His suspension really hurts the team and cricket fans all over the world. Therefore, most people take to social media to voice their opinions about KG’s celebrations.
“I think it is important that you don’t take what people say to heart. You’ll always have a lot of critics. But as long as you’re true to yourself, that’s the most important thing because then you can grow. What other people say about you should not affect you at all,” he added.
Since making his ODI debut in 2015, Rabada has been a regular in almost every series across all formats. The forced rest due to the COVID-19 outbreak has given the youngster time to set new goals and put his feet up a little longer.
“These five years have actually gone by really quick. But there’s been a huge amount of volume in terms of cricket being played,” he said.
“Getting the rest is cool. I’m really enjoying my time. It has allowed me to think about what I really want and makes it easier to set goals and enjoy more. I’m 150% committed to playing for South Africa.”
Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
